We’ve seen a lot of muskox near our camp outside of Grise Fiord, Nunavut but zero narwhals. While it’s easy to feel disappointed, I’m satisfied that we had a safe research trip. I, along with a team of scientists, animal husbandry experts and Fisheries and Oceans Canada staff, came to satellite-tag and collect samples from narwhals with the hope of learning where they travel during different times of the year.
As mentioned in my last ... Read More …

Clint Wright, GM of the Vancouver Aquarium on the hunt for the elusive narwhal.

We are well into our narwhal research trip and… no sight of narwhals. Should they have ventured by our camp outside of Grise Fiord, Nunavut I would have seen them early this morning because there was no wind and the water was like glass. Alas, there weren’t any narwhals, but I did see jellies rippling in the water during my 3 am polar bear shift (didn’t see any polar bears either).
We (our team of ... Read More …

A look at the entrance to Grise Fiord, Nunavut from under the plane wing.

People who travel in the Arctic very quickly get used to the idea of getting stuck in small towns. It happened to me last year and this year is no different.
We started our journey north to satellite tag and collect samples from narwhals by taking a flight from Ottawa to Iqaluit. Then it was on to Arctic Bay, Resolute and finally Grise Fiord. Our schedule, though, was weather dependent, and we arrived later than ... Read More …

Vancouver Aquarium associate researcher Dr. Valeria Vergara is a behavioural ecologist now spending the summer in the Arctic. Based at Arctic Watch on Somerset Island, Dr. Vergara is using her knowledge about beluga calls, gained by studying beluga whales at the Vancouver Aquarium, to learn more about wild Arctic populations, and how their melting environment is affecting them. The study is funded by the Vancouver Aquarium and supported by the Arctic Watch Beluga Foundation. ... Read More …

Vancouver Aquarium associate researcher Dr. Valeria Vergara is a behavioural ecologist now spending the summer in the Arctic. Based at Arctic Watch on Somerset Island, Dr. Vergara is using her knowledge about beluga calls, gained by studying beluga whales at the Vancouver Aquarium, to learn more about wild Arctic populations, and how their melting environment is affecting them. The study is funded by the Vancouver Aquarium and supported by the Arctic Watch Beluga Foundation. ... Read More …

Vancouver Aquarium associate researcher Dr. Valeria Vergara is a behavioural ecologist now spending the summer in the Arctic. Based at Arctic Watch on Somerset Island, Dr. Vergara is using her knowledge about beluga calls, gained by studying beluga whales at the Vancouver Aquarium, to learn more about wild Arctic populations, and how their melting environment is affecting them. The study is funded by the Vancouver Aquarium and supported by the Arctic Watch Beluga Foundation. ... Read More …

Vancouver Aquarium associate researcher Dr. Valeria Vergara is a behavioural ecologist now spending the summer in the Arctic. Based at Arctic Watch on Somerset Island, Dr. Vergara is using her knowledge about beluga calls, gained by studying beluga whales at the Vancouver Aquarium, to learn more about wild Arctic populations, and how their melting environment is affecting them. The study is funded by the Vancouver Aquarium and supported by the Arctic Watch Beluga Foundation.... Read More …

The 2011 Arctic Connections Southern Expedition provided opportunities for students from Pond Inlet, Nunavut to share knowledge and perspectives with Vancouver Aquarium staff and volunteers.

By Eric Solomon, Vancouver Aquarium director of Arctic programs
As head of Arctic initiatives at the Vancouver Aquarium, I am fortunate to be able to travel north and experience the Arctic first-hand. But I’m far from the first to set foot on the ice and tundra of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. There are about 50 communities in Canada’s Far North, and to truly understand the Arctic environment, one must get to know its people ... Read More …

Our time conducting narwhal research outside Grise Fiord, Nunavut has come to an end.
With a research site picked out for next year, it was time to pack up our current site. While we broke camp, we left the net in the water, hoping that we’d have the chance to tag and measure at least one narwhal this summer.
Even though we were unsuccessful in our attempts to tag and measure any narwhals, I don’t ... Read More …

Researchers on a zodiac set a net for narwhal tagging. Photo credit: Vancouver Aquarium.

After a long journey here, I’ve finally spotted the animals I have come to help research: narwhals. We saw them coming down the channel, a few on each side. They eventually met in the middle of the channel before disappearing. The Inuit on our team could tell by this behaviour that they weren’t local narwhals. The local ones tend to hug the shoreline, while those new to the area are more wary and stay closer ... Read More …

We're in Grise Fiord to research narwhals, though we haven't seen any... yet. Photo credit: Vancouver Aquarium.

After a week of waiting, we’ve finally made it to our field camp in Grise Fiord. It’s here that we’ll be conducting research on narwhals: where do they come from? How long do they stay here? Where do they go next?
If there’s anything I’ve learned about doing research in the Arctic, it’s that you’re at the mercy of the weather and you can expect long waits. I write this as part of our team ... Read More …

It can be hard to get around in a land of snow, ice and wind. Photo credit: Vancouver Aquarium.

Well, we’re still stuck in Pond Inlet.
We haven’t been able to get out into the field, and we’ve pretty much been on standby every day for the last week. The problem is that the flights are originating out of Resolute – and we need to get to Grise Fiord. Between Resolute, Pond Inlet and Grise there have been weather warnings every day – mostly wind.
Grise, as we are finding out, is also a ... Read More …

Clint Wright, Vancouver Aquarium’s senior vice president and general manager, has ventured into Canada’s Arctic for the fourth year in a row to conduct research on narwhals, which make up a vital part of the Arctic ecosystem. Keeping track of their population size and understanding migration patterns are important in making sure their populations stay healthy. Clint will be providing regular updates on his research, starting with this first blog post.
We are comfortably ... Read More …

Looking southwest towards the mouth of "the finest little harbor in the world"

By Neil Fisher, Vancouver Aquarium videographer and photographer
Gjoa Haven, also known as Uqsuqtuuq (meaning “place of plenty blubber”), is situated on the southeast coast of King William Island, Nunavut. In 1903, while transiting the Northwest Passage, famed Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen wintered in Gjoa Haven, which he called “the finest little harbor in the world.” Gjoa Haven got its English name from Amundsen’s ship the Gjoa.
Last month, I travelled to Gjoa Haven with ... Read More …

By Eric Solomon, director of Arctic programs, Vancouver Aquarium
“I don’t live 50 meters down, so why should I care what the temperature is?” asked a new friend in Gjoa Haven.
It’s a fair question, and I promise to answer it, but first some quick background:
It’s been a week since returning from Gjoa Haven, Nunavut after participating in the Canadian Ranger Ocean Watch (CROW) Exercise Polar Passage. As I mentioned in past posts, ... Read More …

By Eric Solomon, Vancouver Aquarium’s director of Arctic programs
If you’ve been following along in our blog post series about the Canadian Rangers Ocean Watch program (CROW), you are aware that I, along with the Aquarium’s videographer Neil Fisher, had the opportunity this month to accompany scientists from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Canadian Rangers to the Arctic on a unique data-gathering collaboration. By now, you may have heard about the tragic accident that befell ... Read More …

By John Nightingale, Ph.D., president and CEO of Vancouver Aquarium.
We have finally reached the “true” Antarctic – the peninsula that extends from the continent towards South America. I say finally because we deliberately joined this particular expedition to see the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Orkney Islands – as well as the Antarctic Peninsula. That meant that most of our time was taken up visiting those places, and transiting the hundreds ... Read More …

People come from all over the world to see the aurora borealis in the Arctic. Photo: Neil Fisher/Vancouver Aquarium.

Written by Neil Fisher, videographer, Vancouver Aquarium
What is your favourite animal? Depending on who you ask at the Vancouver Aquarium, the answer may vary. Some might simply say, “You can’t choose just one.” Others, however, will go into great detail explaining why the hagfish or the anaconda or another strangely unique animal appeals to them.
Personally, my favourite animal is the beluga whale, Aurora. I’m lucky enough to have worked with Aurora at ... Read More …

The vast Arctic will be my home for the next two weeks (snowmobiles in the distance). Photo: Neil Fisher/Vancouver Aquarium.

Written by Neil Fisher, videographer, Vancouver Aquarium
If someone were to offer you a trip to Canada’s Arctic in the middle of the summer, what would you say? Hopefully, you’d say “yes” in an instant as it’s a beautiful place. However, what if the same opportunity was offered again, but this time in February? You would travel by snowmobile from Gjoa Haven, cross the frozen Queen Maud Gulf and continue on to tiny Hat ... Read More …